Brands & Innovation students give up technology to explore togetherness

A group of young people went to a remote island with no technology for two days to learn about being together. Highly unlikely? Brands and Innovation students did just that, in search of the definition of ‘togetherness’.

Twenty-three Brands & Innovation students at the start of the trip.

To understand the ‘togetherness’ movement and how this will affect the future for Dutch brands including Hema and Viktor & Rolf, 23 students organised UN-TANGLE. This twenty-week project connects individuals through a collective, makes concepts stronger through group work, and then passes the movement on. To really see what it means to be together, they atypically decided to abandon the internet and visit the Dutch island of Ameland in the North Sea.

As you can imagine, the students were a little anxious about leaving their gadgets and their online lives for two days. Justin Rahantoknam couldn’t see how life could be improved without technology, but after forty-eight hours of no notification stress, he changed his mind: ‘Smartphones and social media aren’t so social in real life. They’re bringing people to another world, not the world here and now.’

Could you handle locking your mobile phone in a box for two days?

Students spent time without the distraction of vibrating phones or low batteries. Samantha Sowirono found that she felt calmer just from being on the island, a strong contrast from the business culture and constant stimulus of Amsterdam: ‘The island taught me to enjoy amazing views and nature, instead just of making a quick picture and going.’

“You could enjoy the view and just discover the island as if you were a child.” -Justin (Photo: Astrid Verstrate)

From findings on this trip, expert interviews and visual research, the group has created a research magazine as a guide to the ‘togetherness’ movement. In order to fund UN-TANGLE and an exposition of their concept, the students are currently crowdfunding. They have raised an impressive amount so far, but every little bit helps, so support them if you are also inspired by the project and their motto: ‘if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, go together.’